At 8:30 in the morning there were two guys in cowboy hats drinking Corona in the hotel hot tub. The manager of a band from Massachusetts sat down at my table at breakfast, where I was waiting for the Teeth to wake up and come down. He was wearing plaid pajama pants and a black suit jacket.
The hotel room smelled really badly of feet, but every time we opened the window the noise from the highway made it impossible to have a conversation, so we just decided to deal.
Over the a gut-busting Denny’s breakfast (cajun omelettes, hashbrowns, sausage, bacon, pancakes, and fruit-filled waffles) The Teeth picked their set-list for the showcase. They were sticking with the set that dominated the tour, starting with So Long and closing with Feelings on Life.
I ran down the street to catch up with Illinois in the back of Emo’s. The were drinking Pabst and getting excited for their big show at the Filter Magazine party. Chris and Martin were planning to wear fake mustaches until their lawyer nixed the idea. When the law-man was out of earshot I asked Chris if he was going to do it anyway. He gave me an answer that was much more serious than what I expected, “Fake mustaches and stuff like that is kind of what you do it for. Beyond the industry pressure there’s the instinctual love of the art and passion to have fun and enjoy making the music.”
Spending the day with Illinois involved darting between industry parties, searching for free beer and food. At the Sony party in a huge ritzy hotel Dru fell sound asleep in his chair, woke up for a few more beers, and then fell right back asleep again.
Illinois didn’t get wristbands, so they couldn’t get into the Park the Van showcase to see National Eye, The Teeth and Dr. Dog. They were headed instead to the Diesel party for some free jeans and maybe even more free beer. Chris said I should use everything I learned from them to write a book called How To Find Free Beer and Food in Austin. Sounded like a good read.
The Park the Van showcase was in a venue called the Flamingo Cantina, and it had a Tiki theme. The backstage area was a straw hut that was dubbed the “Cabana.” The Capitol Years, Make A Rising, Pattern is Movement and assorted other Philly musicians came to support National Eye, The Teeth, and Dr. Dog. It was amazing to be standing in front of the stage and be able to see up in the balcony, at the bar, in the bleachers so many faces from home out for their friends.
All three bands played amazing shows. Chris was watching his show, absolutely glowing. The crowd was packed in, the balcony even filled up, and everyone was completely awed.
Beaver has to leave early in the morning to catch a flight back home. When he told us, it started to hit home that the tour was nearly over. National Eye was planning to take off first thing on Saturday, and then The Teeth were going Saturday afternoon.
All three bands used up every last bit of energy they had left for the showcase. Peter’s voice was almost completely gone, and everyone was sweaty and exhausted, so we all went back to the hotel with some members of Dr. Dog in tow.
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